About

 

The Integrating Effective Team Dynamics in Curriculum initiative at the Georgia Institute of Technology provides students with intentional training for team dynamics and team-building. This program facilitates students’ ability to receive instruction in building teams, communicating in teams, resolving team conflicts, and leading a team within existing team-based projects. In partnership with the institute’s Strategic Plan Advisory Group (SPAG), this project is committed to facilitating best-practices for teamwork for Georgia Tech curricula development and assessment.

Begun in 2016, over 1,400 Georgia Tech students from all majors have participated in this project. Foregrounding their written, oral, and visual communication, participants increase their strategic knowledge as team leaders while contributing to learning outcomes. Far from an ancillary form of service, students participate in substantial team learning projects and assignments in their required courses as an integral part of their academic training. Using the Strengths Finder assessment and leadership activities in the classroom, instructors promote positive group interactions by incorporating team dynamics into their curriculum.

Primary Investigator Dr. Mary Lynn Realff, and her team of trained leadership experts, share a passion and commitment for teaching students to develop team-building and leadership strategies. Not only are these strategies strongly valued by industry, but they are also noted in ABET’s student outcomes, especially, “an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams” (ABET 2016).

The ETD Team

  • PI: Mary Lynn Realff, Associate Chair and Associate Professor, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach | Materials Science and Engineering
  • Kate Holterhoff | Brittain Fellow 
  • Rebekah Fitzsimmons | Brittain Fellow  
  • Matt Dischinger | Brittain Fellow 
  • Andrea Krafft | Brittain Fellow 
  • Juliana Alfonso | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Undergraduate Student 
  • Shirley Manchester | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Academic Advisor 
  • Renita Washington | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Academic Advising Manager​ 
  • Kerry Wallaert | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Assist. Dir. Special Scholarships ​ 
  • Kathryn Narciso | Ph.D. Student, School of Psychology 
  • Robbie Ouzts | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Career Advisor, Graduate Education 
  • Caroline Dotts | Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Associate Dir. Healthy Lifestyle Programs 
  • Matt Quan | Undergraduate Student, Computer Science 
  • Amit Jariwala | Director of Design & Innovation, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
  • Aldo Ferri | Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Program Management